Getting Started with Solo Kit

Solo Kit is a comprehensive React SaaS starter kit that helps you build production-ready applications faster. With its modern tech stack and smart feature flags, you can start developing immediately without complex setup.

Quick Start

Get up and running in minutes:

# Clone your Solo Kit project
git clone <your-project-url>
cd your-project

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Set up PostgreSQL database (get free tier from neon.tech)
# Add DATABASE_URL to .env.local

# Initialize database
pnpm db:push

# Start development server
pnpm dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 to see your application running!

Project Structure

Solo Kit uses a monorepo structure that keeps your code organized:

├── apps/
│   ├── web/          # Next.js 15 web application
│   └── mobile/       # Expo React Native app
├── packages/
│   ├── ui/           # Shared UI components
│   ├── utils/        # Platform-agnostic utilities
│   └── database/     # Database layer with Drizzle ORM

Feature Flags System

One of Solo Kit's key features is its intelligent feature flag system:

• Database: PostgreSQL-first with providers like Neon, Supabase, Railway
• Auth: BetterAuth with secure defaults (always enabled)
• Email: Console logging in development, production-ready providers when configured
• Payments: Mock implementation → Stripe integration

Key Commands

# Development
pnpm dev              # Start web app
pnpm dev:mobile       # Start mobile app
pnpm dev:all          # Start both apps

# Database
pnpm db:push          # Push schema changes
pnpm db:studio        # Open Drizzle Studio
pnpm db:seed          # Seed with sample data

# Code Quality
pnpm lint             # Lint all packages
pnpm type-check       # TypeScript validation
pnpm test             # Run test suite
pnpm ci               # Full CI pipeline

Your First Feature

Let's add a simple feature to understand how Solo Kit works:

1. Create a new component in apps/web/components/features/
2. Add routes in apps/web/app/[locale]/
3. Use the database with Drizzle ORM in packages/database/
4. Style with Tailwind and shadcn/ui components

Environment Setup

Copy .env.example to .env.local and configure your PostgreSQL database:

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env.local

# Add your PostgreSQL database URL
# Get a free database from neon.tech, supabase.com, or railway.app
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@host:5432/database

# Initialize database tables
pnpm db:push

Next Steps

• Explore the feature flags system in config/features.ts
• Check out the database schema in packages/database/src/schema/
• Visit /debug in development to see your feature flag status
• Read the component documentation at /documentation

Solo Kit is designed to grow with your project - start simple and scale up as needed!